AntrimThe BBC's Stephen Nolan has been accused of 'trampling over sensitive issues' in Antrim in the pursuit of ratings.Following Antrim Guardian reports of unrest at Antrim Borough Council's new park in the Steeple estate, he invited local DUP and Sinn Fein reps to discuss the matter on air - and, predictably, the sparks flew.Annemarie Logue told DUP man Brian Graham that the Council's decision to open parks in 'loyalist' areas in Ballycraigy and off Stiles Way had 'alienated' Catholic families - particularly after sectarian threats were made.(Source:Antrim Guardian)ArmaghResidents in Armagh city have said flash flooding in the area on Wednesday night was the worst seen there in recent years.The flooding began due to heavy rain at about 1700 BST. The water is believed to have now subsided but at its worst was between 1ft and 1ft 6ins deep. Sinn Fein councilor Noel Sheridan said shops and businesses in the Ogle Street and Railway Street areas were worst affected. He said that sandbags had been put in place as quickly as possible.(Source:Antrim Guardian)CarlowThe community of Ballinkillen has been left reeling in shock last week following the death of 28-year-old Brian Canavan.Brian from Ballinkillen, Bagenalstown died last Saturday morning, leaving behind his heartbroken parents Brendan and Mary, his brothers David and Ciaran and sisters Siobhan and Niamh.A very well-known and respected family in the community, Brian was the eldest in the Canavan family and lived at home. His death has been a tragic loss to his family and the wider community, where he was very highly thought of.Many described Brian this week as “a wonderful young man” who was good natured, easy going and “never wanted to put anyone out”. A welder fabricator by profession, Brian did his apprenticeship in Milltown Engineering and was a very popular and well-liked employee there for a number of years.(Source:Carlow Nationalist)CavanEirgrid intends to lodge fresh plans for its North/South interconnector development "as soon as they can", a spokesperson for the company told The Anglo-Celt last Tuesday. The comment comes following the collapse of the An Bord Pleanála oral hearings into the proposed development after it emerged that the plans lodged by the company did not tally with planning notices published as part of the public consultation process.The planning notices said the maximum height of the pylons would be 37 meters. However, it emerged in evidence that some of them would be 44 meters tall.(The Anglo Celt)ClareCommercial traffic movements through Shannon were 56.9% down in June, compared to the same month last year. While the other State airports, Cork and Dublin, also saw falls, these were far less serious than what was seen at Shannon.Last month, there were 1,088 commercial traffic movements at the Clare airport, compared to 2,525 in June 2009.For the first six months, the amount of commercial movements through the airport was 7,801, compared to 14,297 for the first half of 2009, meaning that the level of business is just 55% of what it was. The decline at Shannon has been particularly apparent since the Ryanair cutbacks but it is hoped that the new services being run by Aer Lingus and Aer Arann to Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester will go some way to reversing the slide.(Source: The Clare Champion)CorkA travel agency trading as Foreign A Fares in Cork has closed with the loss of seven jobs.Foreign A Fares had two outlets in Cork city and Carraigaline.The Commission for Aviation Regulation has confirmed the closure on its website, and is advising customers who have paid for holidays to check with the relevant airline, ferry company or travel provider to establish the status of their bookings. Customers who have paid deposits on holidays are advised to contact another Cork travel agency Lee Travel, who will manage their holiday plans from now on.(Source:Irish Examiner)DerryThere was shock locally at reports that two brothers at the centre of a sex abuse scandal in Fermanagh are being housed voluntarily in a Derry psychiatric unit.It was revealed last week that James and Owen-Roe McDermott had entered Gransha psychiatric unit in the Waterside on a voluntary basis.The move followed a public meeting in the Fermanagh village of Donagh, after which the Western Health Trust urged the brothers to admit themselves for treatment.(Source:Derry Journal)DonegalBundoran man, Monsignor Liam McDaid, who will be invested as the new Bishop of Clogher last Sunday, has urged young drivers to think of the safety of themselves and other road users when they take to the roads.Monsignor McDaid said we also need to take a look at the whole culture of driving here, with a stronger emphasis on safety and the preciousness of life. His comments were made in the aftermath of last week's horrific road crash in Inishowen. "Accidents will happen but we should be doing our very best to prevent them," he said.(Source:Donegal Democrat)DownIreland had a great Day One in Helsinki at the European Junior Swimming Championships as fifteen year-old Portaferry's Sycerika McMahon finished sixth in the 400m Individual final. The county Down swimmer won in four minutes 51.03 seconds - a new personal best - and she also had a strong performance in the semi-final of the 200m butterfly, finishing in 2.18.88, to qualify for the final. Due to a clash with other events however, McMahon will not compete in the 200m butterfly final and will instead race in the 400m freestyle and 200m breaststroke.(Source:RTE News)DublinA man in his early 20s has been arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing in Co Dublin.James Joyce, 20, was stabbed to death during a row on St Cronans Avenue in Swords at around 9pm. He lived nearby and had been socialising with friends in the estate at the time. The young man who was arrested presented himself at Swords garda station where he is now being held.(Source:Irish Examiner)FermanaghPolice in the North investigating serial sex abuse allegations in Co Fermanagh are to question more suspects.The investigation in Donagh, which has already seen four brothers face a litany of abuse charges going back over 30 years, has now been widened. It’s now emerged that two of the brothers – both of whom had returned to live in the village after being declared mentally unfit to stand trial – voluntarily checked themselves into a psychiatric unit in Derry. It’s understood police have received information raising concerns that others were involved in the abuse.(Source:OceanFM.ie)GalwayThe organizers of the Galway Races Summer Festival are hopeful that attendances at this year’s flagship event will hold steady, with early bookings indicating around 170,000 punters could flock to Ballybrit this week.Last year just over 140,000 people passed through the turnstiles over the seven days of the festival with a further 30,000 or more in the free and funfair area adjacent to the tunnel opposite the stand. And local businesses will be hoping the annual injection of an estimated €60 million or more into the local economy will hold this year as well. Galway Racecourse Manager, John Moloney, told the Galway City Tribune that bookings so far for this meeting, which starts on Monday, are “strong” and on a par with last year.(Source:Galway City Tribune)KerryA family is facing an anxious wait to learn if their seriously ill daughter has been accepted on to a potentially life-saving medical trial in the United States. Little Saoirse Heffernan (5) is recovering at home after undergoing a battery of tests in New York last month. She and her little brother Liam, who will turn two this week, are believed to be the only children in the State suffering from Late Infantile Batten Disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that usually claims the life of a sufferer before they reach the age of 10. There are only 16 places on the gene-vector-transfer trial which will be taking place at Weill Cornell Medical Centre in New York later this year. The Heffernans, from Castlemaine, Co Kerry, are due to learn next month whether or not Saoirse will be included. "We had a good response to the tests. The doctors are in contact with us around twice a week so we're taking that as a positive," Saoirse's father Tony said.(Source:The Irish Independant)KildareGardai in Newbridge are investigating the death of a young man whose body was found in a house in the town early on Monday morning.The man, who was aged 21 and understood to have been Polish, may have been the victim of a violent attack.The gardaí were called to the house at Moorefield Park at 5.30am on Monday morning and it was subsequently confirmed that a suspicious death was being investigated.The garda press off ice later issued a statement saying that the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body of a 21-year old man were being investigated. The brief statement added that the scene was being technically examined and the state pathologist had been called in.The man’s body is understood to have been removed from the house early on Monday afternoon(Source:Kildare Nationalist)KilkennyEight members of the Iverk Show Committee traveled to Aras an Uachtaran, following an invitation from President McAleese, to her Garden Party on Saturday 10th July. The occasion was an experience to remember and enjoyed by all.On arrival at the Aras, President McAleese and Dr. Martin McAleese welcomed each one of the group and they were presented with a small historical framed history of the Iverk Show. Refreshments were then provided and this was followed by an hour’s entertainment, which was introduced by well known RTÉ commentator John Creedon. The artists included An Crannog Traditional Musicians; Jimmy McCarthy, Donal Lunny and Graham Henderson musicians; singers Dara McMahon and Gerry Noonan; opera singer Gabrielle Istoc from Romania and The Blanchardstown Steadfast Brass Band.(Source:Kilkenny People)LaoisThe man who died following a road accident at Rosenallis on Wednesday, July 21 has been named as David Mullins of Bracklone Street, Portarlington.Gardai in Mountmellick are investigating the single vehicle fatal road traffic collision which occurred at Rosenallis between 4.00am and 5.30am on Wednesday morning – 21st July 2010. The driver was pronounced dead after the car, in which he was the sole occupant, collided with a ditch.The road was closed off for a number of hours on Wedensday with diversions in place locally.(Source:Leinster Express)LeitrimAlthough no brothels have been detected in county by the Gardai so far this year, the Leitrim Observer has been told "there are definitely brothels operating in Co Leitrim." Shocking figures emerged this week showing that more brothels have been detected in the first six months of 2010 than in each of the last four years.The figures from the Gardai's PULSE system reveal that 28 brothels have been discovered up to the end of June. Two brothels were detected in Roscommon and another two busted in Longford since January 2010.(Source:Leitrim Observer)LimerickEight Limerick men have been sent forward for trial to a sitting of a Special Criminal Court. There was tight security at the courthouse on Merchants Quay, where the eight accused appeared before a special sitting of Limerick District Court last Friday morning. All eight were served books of evidence by Detective Sergeant Brian Sugrue of Henry Street Garda Station. The defendants - Ger Dundon, Jimmy Collins, Gareth Keogh Collins, Christopher McCormack, David McCormack, Christopher McCarthy, Michael Bridgeman, and Patrick Pickford - are charged with a variety of offences including demanding money with menaces and violent disorder.(Source:Limerick Leader)LongfordLongford town's local economy could lose over €2m over the course of the next 12 months as a result of the B3 Cable Solutions liquidation.Longford County Enterprise chief executive, Michael Nevin said the shedding of 106 jobs was a "major blow" not just to workers but to many other local suppliers and sub contractors. "It's a major blow to County Longford, there is no other way of looking at it," he conceded. "We are sending up some information to ex-workers this week to see if they have any business ideas. That is the only silver lining for us at the minute.(Source:Longford Leader) (Source:Irish Independent)MayoIt was a case of returning to his Erris roots for Castlerea native, Dr Keith Swanick when he and his wife, Aislinn moved to Belmullet three years ago to take over the medical practice in the town. Last Saturday afternoon, An Taoiseach Brian Cowen traveled to Belmullet to officially open the new Swanick Medical Practice which is located in the old D&S Plumbing store on Church Road in the town. The centre is equipped with a wide range of facilities including osteoporosis screening, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, chiropody, ultra sound screening and asthma and diabetes clinics. There are also plans to provide dental care and a pharmacy at the practice.The move to Erris was not a move into the unknown for Dr Swanick whose mother, Maimie nee Leneghan came from Ballycroy and he also spent a few months as a pupil in Drumslide National School. Speaking to The Mayo News following the opening Dr Swanick said it was not a difficult decision to locate to Belmullet.(Source:Mayo News)MeathThe local economy in Athboy received a much-needed boost last week with the news that McElhinney's Fashions, the landmark store which closed in early June following liquidation, is to reopen on Monday.The store is reopening under a under a new concession agreement that involves two of Ireland's most established fashion families, the Barrons, who run a number of well-known outlets nationally, and the Sweeneys, who run McElhinney's. Neal Sweeney, whose grandmother, Molly McElhinney, founded the business in 1937, said he was delighted to be able to do a deal with the liquidator which will enable to iconic store to reopen next week and will see all 56 staff members get their jobs back.